Wanderings – Page 23 – The Life and Times of Joe Suttle

Too Long Ago

joe April 30, 2009 Church, Faith

It never seems that this much time has passed, but looking at the dates, it has been a long time. And it gets that way with so many areas of our lives. Time goes bye. We don't really procrastinate, we just think that some other thing or things are more important.

The pot boils, the fire dies, or the screensaver kicks in. We or our car run out of gas, or the tires go flat. The ink in the printer dries out or old friends pass on into that land without end.

"It was just yesterday" we cry. Or our voices cry out "I didn't realize it had been that long."[more]

Pastor Dave is doing a "30 Days To Live" series, and it can make you think about what we might want to get done, but our feet still drag. "Can't happen to me" we proudly say, but do we really know. How long has it been since you sat and talked with the people who matter to you? How long have we let those hurts fester between one another? Why are we so afraid to make contact and say "hello" or (worse yet) "I'm sorry?"

Got back to Second Peter this morning, and ran across the "thousand years" in chapter 3, verse 8. After all, how long is a year and how long is a day? After seeing some information about Mount St. Helens, that question has real meaning. If in less than a day's time, a canyon 100 plus feet deep can be carved, you have to ask "how long?" to a myriad of events in history. And then to have scientists tell you that a rock that isn't even a month old (created by Mt. St. Helens) is "millions of years old." Well…

What do we know?

We have today – to say "I love you" or "Forgive me, what I did was stupid" or just to help someone we love. Do you really know what will happen tomorrow. I'm going to make some calls starting right now.

One Day Later!

joe April 13, 2009 Faith

The empty tomb. The scared Roman Soldiers. The anxious Disciples.

All memories of yesterday – Easter morning!

Yesterday was an indelible stamp on history. No one has been able to erase the death and resurrection that happened. Many have tried in many ways. Attempts have been made to distort history – to declare it hallucination or "something". But, they have not been able to erase it from history.

Even attempts to destroy the manuscripts that recorded and reported what had happened – those too failed.[more]

Many would rather believe what others have to say about Jesus or how he said to live, but in the end, when anyone investigates for themself, there stands Jesus. Standing face to face in the words of his disciples and friends – even non-believing historians who recorded what happened. Peter himself said "you will be exploited with false words…"

Peter, James, John and Jesus warned us that there would be those who would try to convince us that it wasn't so. That they (the false teachers) would distort what had happened and lead us away from the truth. If we ourselves know the truth from studying it, then it is hard to be led astray. Everyday we need to seek His truth – then it won't be faint memories from our past, but actions for today.

Booker T

joe April 10, 2009 General

The cleanup has found many things that have just been laying around (some for years) waiting to have something done with or to them. One of the items was a clip full of calendar pages with quotations from Booker T. Washington and his "Sunday Evening Tuskegee Talks".

I won't bore you with a history of Booker, just a quick summary. Freed from slavery, he went on to become the founder of Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. Surprisingly, he literally built this college fast with a totally different approach.

The top quote in the stack sort of stands out. "We very often hear it said that the one who has succeeded has been fortunate. It is not so. The fortunate persons, in nine cases out of ten, are those who have had sense enough to lay their plans and bend all their energies toward accomplishing what they have laid out."

Kind of makes me pull back and take stock. What are my plans, and to what are my energies devoted?

Check him out – just search the web for Booker T. Washington.